Energy Cafe: Whose transition? Weighing up the costs and benefits of critical raw material extraction
Speakers
Emma Wilson, ECW Energy Ltd (UK) and Austrian Polar Research Institute APRI
Gerti Saxinger, Uni Vienna (AT) and Austrian Polar Research Institute APRI
Abstract
The term ‘Just Transition’ assumes that society is united around a global project to reduce carbon emissions. In practice, however, the notions of both ‘transition’ and ‘justice’ are highly contextual, and there is little agreement on the end-goal of a ‘just transition’ and the pathways to achieve it. Discourses around ‘green transitions’ are frequently criticised as being ‘hot air’, with unrealistic assumptions, empty promises, misinformation and greenwashing. In our talk we will highlight criticisms of ‘transition’ discourses raised by the Sámi Indigenous people of northern Europe. We will introduce two cases of planned mining in Norway and Swedish Sápmi that have been viewed as important for the green transition, but face substantial opposition from local Indigenous groups and environmental activists. One of their key arguments is that the ‘green transition’ of those living in urban centres is being promoted at the expense of an Indigenous minority in sparsely populated regions. In this talk we will also introduce the online conversation platform Beyond Hot Air – Conversation around critical raw materials supply for the ‘green’ transition. This research and conversation project seeks to dig deep to expose the dissonances, injustices and potential synergies in current debates around energy transitions and to challenge the status quo by inviting diverse stakeholders in mining to contribute their insights to a broader conversation.
The Energy Café is a hybrid event used to create an informal, open and inclusive space where people can come together for an hour to share ideas about the energy research they are working on. It is intended to encourage collaborations, expand research horizons, and inspire new ideas and questions about issues of energy. This is a hybrid event and will be hosted online as well as in-person.
Hosted by the Centre for Energy Ethics, the Energy Café is not limited to one discipline, one department or one school – it is open to everyone.